Tag: Nutrition

Keto Day

The long-term studies relative to the ketogenic diet are not very encouraging. They all point out the likelihood of heart disease. Basically, the body is not meant to consume that level of fat on a regular basis.

But that doesn’t mean that the ketogenic approach is not useful.

Let me explain. I do 19:5 intermittent fasting. I eat a big meal at 11 am and stop eating at 4 pm sharp. It is just the way I eat now. Don’t even think about it. Habit.

But I want to do 48-hour and longer fasts on a fairly regular basis for the sake of enhanced autophagy. Not that hard to do a 48-hour fast — just means not eating for one full day. But longer fasts are a real test for me, and yet they would provide even better autophagy.

So longer than a 48-hour fast is where a “keto day” comes in. I just did a 48-hour fast, but the next day afterward, I did what I call a keto day. The keto day was 2000 calories, mostly fat, a small amount of protein, but only 22 grams of carbohydrates.

The tiny amount of carbohydrates means that the deep ketosis of the longer fast will continue for another day, with all the benefits of deep ketosis.

Relative to enhanced autophagy, the small amount of protein is a more serious issue, as protein tends to halt autophagy. (A major reason for autophagy is the body is scavenging for amino acids, so if you provide protein with food that ends the need for scavenging.)

Bottom line: on that third day, one needs to keep the carbohydrates tiny for continued ketosis, but also keep the protein very low, and that — keeping the protein low — is a challenge in using a keto day for greater autophagy in a longer fast.

No Hunger

Food Order

An interesting question is whether there is any advantage in eating the macronutrients — fat, carbs, protein — in any sequence?

There is a lot of evidence that having fat in one’s meal aids the digestion of various vitamins and minerals. Without the presence of fat, these nutrients are digested, but not as well as they would have been had there been some fat available.

Fat also has no impact at all on insulin, and if you eat a meal that includes some fat, the carbs, which will spike insulin, will spike it much less severely because of the presence of fat. You do want to lower insulin spikes as much as possible.

There is also a good deal of evidence that protein is very satiating, and also slows down digestion because the protein compounds require a lot of work by digestive enzymes to break them down, which is a good thing.

So on balance, eating fat/protein at the start of a meal would appear to be the best strategy, and nothing fills that bill better than a handful of mixed nuts — high in both fat and protein. Perhaps you should start all your major meals with a source of fat/protein like nuts to improve your digestion.

Strength and Old Age

No-Brainer Supplements

Resveratrol, sulforaphane, turmeric, milk thistle, garlic, magnesium, chlorella, glutathione.

Resveratrol because of its intense antioxidants and because it is linked to longevity — a longer life span, probably because of the antioxidants.

Sulforaphane because of its proven ability to fight cancer cells. The pharmaceutical industry has poured billions into the study of sulforaphane for this very reason.

Turmeric because of its proven ability to suppress chronic inflammation, which is so common.

Milk thistle because of its proven benefit to promote the health of the liver. You are only as healthy as your liver.

Garlic because of its proven antiviral impact.

Magnesium because of its proven ability to create calmness — a natural sedative.

Chlorella because of its unique mineral content from the sea.

Glutathione is the body’s main antioxidant — the body produces its own glutathione to suppress oxidative stress, but you can also buy it as a supplement in order to boost this defense against cancer and inflammation.

For those people who say that supplements are useless, I say nonsense.

Food Choices